"I love this club," the Frenchman said before Arsenal's match away to Swansea on Saturday. "I always said that you work like you are here forever and know that it can end every day.

"I'm very honoured to have the support of Stan Kroenke. That is something that is very positive for me."

He added: "I've had consistent support from inside the club. I'm very grateful to this club because during my 17 years we have had ups and downs. They have always shown faith in me.

"We have a team now that can compete and that's what we want to show. I've turned many offers down. I've always thought this club is special."

Kroenke had said: "There's no one I feel more strongly about and he is doing a great job.

"We have been very supportive, we have never wavered, we are proud of him, proud of the club, the way the club is run and how it holds itself out to the world."

He said of the 63-year-old: "Arsène knows how we feel, what our philosophy is, what we want to do and I feel like we are totally aligned. I think he wants to do it the exact same way as we do."

There was more positive news for Wenger on the injury front. He said that Theo Walcott is "optimistically three weeks" and realistically five weeks away from return and that Santi Cazorla "could be back after the international break".

He said that Aaron Ramsay "has a little thigh problem but he should be all right".